Context Matters for Nurses Leading Pain Improvement in U.S. Hospitals

Organisational challenges of pain management in neonatal intensive care unit: a qualitative study

OBJECTIVES

Despite credible evidence, optimal neonates' pain management in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is a challenging issue. In this regard, the organisational context is an essential factor. The existing challenges vary depending on the context, and investigating them can help to improve the quality of care. The study aimed to explore organisational challenges to neonates' pain management in the NICU.

METHODS

This qualitative study included 31 nurses and physicians in the NICU of Children's Hospital, Tabriz, Iran. Data collection was done through individual and focus group interviews. For data analysis, we used conventional content analysis.

RESULTS

The identified challenges included organisational culture (poor interprofessional collaboration and low parental participation), organisational structure (lack of unified approach in relieving pain and limited supervision for pain management) and organisational resources (lack of time due to high workload and inadequate educational programmes).

CONCLUSIONS

Many organisational factors consistently affect neonatal pain management. Adopting some approaches to enhance the cooperation of treatment team members, holding educational programmes, proper organisational supervision and implementing a unified neonatal-based pain management programme could improve neonatal pain management.

The Impact of Nurses' Beliefs, Attitudes, and Cultural Sensitivity on the Management of Patient Pain

INTRODUCTION

Nurses' attitudes and beliefs may impact pain management. This study investigated nurses' perceptions regarding their own and patients' pain experiences by examining relationships between pain cautiousness and stoicism, cultural sensitivity, and personal pain attitudes.

METHODOLOGY

A correlational methodology examined nursing staff in a Midwestern private hospital. The sample included 102 primarily female (95.1%), Caucasian (97%), and married (66%) nursing staff. Measures included the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale, Pain Attitudes Questionnaire to Assess Stoicism and Cautiousness, and the Pain Management: Nurses' Knowledge and Attitude Survey.

RESULTS

Cultural sensitivity was a significant predictor of pain knowledge and attitudes total score (R² = .081, β = .244, p = .040), while pain stoicism and pain cautiousness were not predictive.

DISCUSSION

Findings highlight the importance of nurses being aware of personal attitudes, beliefs, and cultural sensitivity in pain management. Results also demonstrate a gap between the knowledge and utilization of nonpharmacologic pain management interventions among nursing staff.

Perspectives and experiences of Chinese nurses on quality improvement initiatives: A mixed-methods study

AIM

To investigate Chinese nurses' views and experiences in relation to quality improvement implementation, as well as to determine the impact of contextual factors on nursing quality improvement initiatives.

BACKGROUND

Nurses play a major role in carrying out quality improvement initiatives. Contextual factors influence the implementation and success of quality improvement initiatives. Studies that investigated the impact of contextual factors on Chinese nurses' practice in quality improvement remain limited.

METHODS

A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was used for this study. A quantitative cross-sectional survey was used to assess the context of quality improvement initiatives. Simple random sampling was used to recruit quality improvement teams. The sample included 356 nurses from tertiary teaching hospitals; 291 (81.7%) of them completed questionnaires. Nursing managers and nurses (n = 18) were purposively selected to participate in semi-structured interviews; their experiences and perceptions regarding the contextual factors of quality improvement initiatives were obtained.

RESULTS

In the quantitative phase, the "microsystem" (mean=5.24) and "QI team" (mean = 4.97) contexts were reported as supportive contexts. The organizational context was weak, with a mean score of 3.92. In the qualitative phase, three themes related to the contextual challenges emerged: (1) nurses' attitudes and satisfaction, (2) team efficacy, and (3) organizational infrastructure and culture.

CONCLUSIONS

Efforts to elevate organizational culture and reward systems are needed in Chinese hospitals. Further education aimed at increasing skills and knowledge should be provided, to ensure effective quality improvement implementation.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

During quality improvement initiatives, management tasks should focus on increasing nurses' satisfaction, solving skill and knowledge deficits, and clarifying nurses' roles in relation to quality improvement.

Understanding Barriers and Facilitators to Nonpharmacological Pain Management on Adult Inpatient Units

Interprofessional staff are in a position to champion nonpharmacological pain management interventions, which can be effective when used in conjunction with analgesic medications. The purposes of this study were to understand the barriers and facilitators to using nonpharmacological pain management interventions as perceived by interprofessional staff, as well as to describe current knowledge, attitudes, and practices of interprofessional staff. An interpretive, descriptive study design at a large, urban, academic teaching hospital in the United States was used. This study provides a starting point for further understanding the potential implementation of nonpharmacological pain management interventions at the bedside. Recommendations include further evaluation of the current use of nonpharmacological pain management interventions as well as promoting education about available resources.

Impact of a pain management program on nurses' knowledge and attitude toward pain in United Arab Emirates: Experimental-four Solomon group design

BACKGROUND

Lack of knowledge about pain is a common barrier to effective pain management. Educational pain management programs directed to health care professionals can improve knowledge and attitudes about pain. However, changing practice is more challenging, but can be achieved with more targeted educational interventions within the clinical setting.

OBJECTIVES

The main objective of this study was to examine which of four separate pain management educational designs improved nurses' knowledge and attitudes toward pain over time. Secondary objectives were to compare and contrast nurse's knowledge and attitudes toward pain before and after the educational intervention.

DESIGN

This randomized controlled trial using a four Solomon group design.

SETTING

This study took place in Dubai Hospital, Dubai Health Authority, in United Arab Emirates between January 2019-April 2019.

PARTICIPANTS

The sample consisted of 200 registered nurses who were randomly selected and assigned into four separate educational groups. Participants had at least one year of experience in Dubai hospital prior to data collection.

RESULTS

paired t-test has shown the experimental group scored significantly higher than the control group (p < 0.01). One-way ANOVA revealed significant post-test score differences between groups p < 0.001. A repeated measures ANOVA with a Greenhouse-Geisser correction determined that mean scores over three months was not statistically significant. Indicating that the level of knowledge did not change over time within any of the groups.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The most important findings were the relatively low pre-test knowledge scores among staff nurses, and the significant improvement in knowledge for most test items following the educational intervention. Moreover, the level of knowledge and attitudes were maintained over three months. The pain management program proved to be effective in improving nurses' pain knowledge, attitudes, and assessment practices. Nurses in the experimental group increased their pain score significantly after the pain management program. Registration number: NETUBR.

Bundling Interventions to Enhance Pain Care Quality (BITE Pain) in Medical Surgical Patients

Background: Inadequate pain management and undertreatment remain a serious clinical issue among hospitalized adults, contributing to chronic pain syndromes and opioid dependency. Implementation of individual pain care interventions has been insufficient to improve pain care quality. The purpose of this interprofessional, patient-centered project was to implement a 6-component bundle of evidence-based pain management strategies to improve patients' perception of pain care quality and 24-hour pain experience outcomes. Methods: A quasi-experimental design was used to test the effect of a bundled pain management intervention on 3 medical surgical units. Baseline outcomes using the Pain Care Quality-Interdisciplinary (PainCQ-I^©) and Pain Care Quality-Nursing (PainCQ-N^©) surveys were measured monthly for 4 months preintervention and 30 months postintervention. Results: A convenience sample of 846 patients was analyzed. The effect of the intervention on pain outcomes could not be tested because unit-based adherence did not meet the goal of 80%. A subsample of 70.2% (594/846) of participants was sufficient to complete a 3-group analysis of preintervention and postintervention participants with confirmed intervention adherence. Participants in the postintervention group who received all 6 components (n=65) had significantly higher odds of higher PainCQ^© scores than those in the preintervention group (n=141) (PainCQ-I^©: odds ratio [OR] 2.61, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.54-4.42; PainCQ-N^©: OR 3.82, 95% CI 2.06-7.09) or those in the postintervention group receiving ≤5 components (n=388) (PainCQ-I^©: OR 2.52, 95% CI 1.57-4.03; PainCQ-N^©: OR 3.84, 95% CI 2.17-6.80). Conclusion: Medical surgical patients participating in this study who received the bundled 6-component intervention reported significantly higher levels of perceived pain care quality, suggesting that a bundled approach may be more beneficial than unstandardized strategies.